God’s punishment
For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. (Luke 10: 13)
Jesus said: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10: 13-16)
Receiving graces and gifts from God can be a very good thing. However, it can become an additional responsibility and even cause guilt in those who receive them but refuse to convert. That is why Jesus often refused to perform miracles and grant graces to those who were opposed to the Gospel because their own prejudices. Jesus, bitterly and negatively judges a town and community who rejected His mission of salvation. So how do we regard Jesus? Do we see him as our true Lord and friend or merely as someone useful or convenient to ask for help, as if He were some kind of grace vending machine?
